Page 172 of The Edge of Darkness

With the flick of his finger, the rope that bound the beast’s wings melted away into ash, and Roirdan dropped the lead rope. This Dreki, however, did not immediately take to the sky as the others had. Instead, it hurled itself at Roirdan, swiping with its front claws. The commander ported out of reach, but the Dreki found him once more and sent a stream of flame in his direction. He threw up his forearm, and lightning crackled over his skin, deflecting the flame. The Dreki roared with irritation, then inhaled, preparing to send another scorching breath in his direction, but Roirdan pointed his fist at the beast and a bolt shot through the air, piercing its scales and singing the flesh beneath.

The beast yelped, then let out a snarl, but Niall tugged on the reins and used his shadows to prod at the creature’s wings, prompting him to fly. He summoned a dagger from thin air and jabbed it against the Dreki’s neck, and finally, it obeyed, setting its sights on the sky and roaring its protest to the heavens as it lifted from the earth.

“That’s a nasty one,” I said as I watched Niall and the stone-colored beast disappear into the low-lying clouds.

Roirdan took another running start at the next Dreki, sliding into the saddle with fluid grace, and within seconds, he was lifting into the air, aiming the Dreki in the direction Niall had flown and yelling commands that I couldn’t understand.

“When there are several in the air at one time, the riders like to pit them against each other to train them to follow commands and attack enemies,” Remic explained.

My eyes widened. “But then won’t they see other Dreki as enemies?”

“No. It’s more of a game. It teaches the Dreki to be alert and helps them learn a quick response if they’re ever under siege in the air.”

I kept my eyes on the clouds, half expecting to see bursts of orange ignite somewhere within their midst, or hear the roars of the Dreki or their riders. When the clouds remained drifting in silence, I turned my attention back to Remic.

From where I sat, the top of his head was level with my chest, and his hair—illuminated like soft silver under the diffuse afternoon light—was ripe for the taking.

“Take a few steps backward,” I calmly instructed him.

He turned to look at me over his shoulder, skeptically. “Why?”

“Just trust me.”

Slowly, he stepped, until his wings bumped the fence on either side of where my legs hung. When I gently lifted a piece of his hair, he stiffened. I threaded my fingers into the long strands, sectioning off three thin pieces at the top right side of his head and overlapping them into one.

“What are you doing?” he asked, growing so still that I thought he might lock his knees and fall over.

“I’m braiding your hair.”

“What is braiding?”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the sense of panic in his voice. “It’s where I take three small sections of your hair and intertwine them into one pattern. Then, once I get to the end of the braid, I secure it with a tie to hold it in place.”

He turned his head, lowering his eyes as he listened and felt the movements my hands made, mapping the process in his mind.

Once I was done, I used my own worn-out leather hair strap to tie off the braid, and draped the plait over his shoulder for him to examine. “See?”

He looked down, taking the braid into his hands. “Fascinating.”

“It suits you well.”

When his eyes met mine, they brightened.

Behind him, a roar split the air, then another. We turned just in time to see the clouds swirling, disturbed by wings as three Dreki cut through them. Niall led, followed by Vanir, then Roirdan. Their beasts were right on each other’s tails. All three riders braced themselves in the saddle, knees bent, hair whipping in the wind as they raced toward the arena.

“They’re coming in quite fast,” I said, gripping the wood beneath me and suddenly feeling like they were going to need a little more landing room than what they had been given.

“Shit—” Remic spun, wings spreading wide as he launched over the fence and took me with him. We swept out of the way just as all three Dreki descended on the pen in a fury of claws and wings. And as Remic and I had both anticipated, the fenced enclosure was nowhere near big enough to allow them adequate room to stop. Their paws pounded the ground, ripping away chunks of grass as they barreled across the pen and plowed through the fence where we had just been.

All three males broke into laughter as their Dreki finally came to a stop.

Remic lowered us to the ground and snapped his wings in irritation. “Are you all right?”

“Thanks to you,” I said, smiling.

The corner of his mouth tilted up, and as he turned toward the others, I saw him reach for his braid to make sure it was still intact. When he surveyed the busted fence, his smile fell into a frown. “I am not cleaning this up,” he called out.

Vanir laughed again, steering his mount toward us. “Don’t worry, I’ll have it taken care of.” He swung his gaze to me. “Sorry about that. We haven’t had a good race in a while. Your mate, as always, claims another win.”